Enjoy Better Eggs

February 2007
by Cheryl Long 
Yolk
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Backyard chickens produce delicious eggs. 
Matthew T. Stallbaumer
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Have you ever thought of keeping a few chickens so you can enjoy farm-fresh eggs? Fresh eggs from birds that eat their natural diet of grass, grain and insects taste far better than the pale-yolked orbs sold in supermarkets.

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Anyone can easily setup a small coop, but just be sure you choose a design that will keep the birds safe from predators and still allow them to forage on your lawn or meadow. (We have a new low-cost, portable pen design coming out in the April/May 2007 issue of Mother Earth News.)

Recent research has revealed that eggs from free-range chickens (or from birds that are confined in outdoor pens but moved daily so they can forage on fresh grass) are far more nutritious than eggs from poultry confined in factory farms.

Mother Earth News tested four free-range flocks and found the free-range eggs had only half as much cholesterol as the USDA's official average levels in eggs. Plus, the free-range eggs had about 50% more Vitamin E and four times as much beta-carotene and Omega-3 fatty acids. (Several other studies have confirmed these remarkable results.)

If you want more information on how to get started raising chickens, here are the resources I would recommend:

For general information (including more information about our egg nutrition testing, coop designs, care and feeding, etc.), go to The Chicken and Egg Page on www.MotherEarthNews.com.

To order catalogs from the hatcheries nearest you, go to the The Hatcheries Directory at www.MotherEarthNews.com, or check with your local farm store about when they will have chicks and if they can do special orders for you.

Our favorite book on backyard chickens is Living with Chickens: Everything You Need to Know to Raise Your Own Backyard Flock. (See below to order.)

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  • Dawn P 10/29/2009 1:01:27 PM

    I have been buying store eggs because we can't afford anything else right now, much to my dismay. One thing I have noticed is that in the last few years the yolks have been getting even more pale and the shells get thinner and thinner. If the chickens aren't even able to produce a nice thick shell on that store-bought egg, I can only imagine the nutritional deficits in the yolk. :/

    I'm looking forward to raising ducks and/or chickens as soon as we can find land to do so, but in the meantime I am stuck with cheap, poor-tasting eggs. Does anyone know if it's possible to forage wild birds' eggs around here?

  • Michael Amoroso 10/28/2009 2:41:19 PM

    I dont pretend to know everything about raising chickens but only know what has in the past worked for me.
    I noticed some time ago that in the summer our chickens laid eggs that had very yellow yolks and a good taste however when winter came and the chickens stayed in the coop more the eggs were more pale and had a different taste, during the summer I noticed that they pecked at the marigolds and mums that we plant around and in the vegetable gardens, (not only does it look nice but keeps bugs away) along with grass and other things, so that winter we cut the dried flowers and made bundles of them along with some alfalfa and dried wheat that grows along the road. We hang the bundles from the ceiling of the coop just high enough so that they have to streach for it, not only does it give them something to do but they get a nice treat and the eggs are nice and yellow again, if you can't grow these flowers you can always collect wild flowers and dry them for use in the winter.
    Michael

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